Don’t be sniffy about networking — it can reap dividends - Sunday Times

It needn’t be lonely at the top of a firm if there are people from your past on hand for advice. Give alumni clubs a chance and don’t be sniffy about networking

I have a friend who has a box at Newcastle United FC, and I’m one of the lucky guests. For two hours inside St James’ Park, you feel you’re part of something special. There’s a sense of belonging as you share stories, exchange robust opinions, meet new people and, hopefully, celebrate success together.

It ought to be the same in business — an environment in which business leaders and entrepreneurs can learn from their peers, solve problems and discuss opportunities. Because no matter how successful you are (or think you are), the best way to develop is to listen.

It can get lonely at the top. Everyone is looking to you to make the right decision, especially in the early years of growth — and while advice from colleagues is essential, you’re on your own when the decisions are actually taken. I’m certain that my success with HomeServe would have happened faster and with fewer wrong turns had I been able to turn to a group of fellow chief executives who could point out my mistakes without fear or favour, and let me tap into their experiences.

That desire to learn from others is rooted in the start of my career at Procter & Gamble, the consumer goods giant. After university, I ignored my father’s plea to get a “safe” business qualification in chartered accountancy and went into brand management instead. After a three-day marketing vocation course, I joined 12 others as brand assistants at P&G’s headquarters in Newcastle, where we learnt everything about how to make a business successful — packaging, marketing, advertising, pricing, manufacturing, promotions.

Each brand (mine was Fairy Liquid) was a small, team-led business within a bigger enterprise. It was fun, dynamic and inspiring, and the accelerated learning was better than any university. But what happened in the evenings and at weekends was just as important: when we socialised, we kept talking about work and exchanging ideas, constantly learning from each other. It was a powerful training model because it never stopped.

And it still hasn’t. Once a year, members of the P&G Alumni Network come together to listen to a guest speaker and share experiences as a peer group. We’re working in different roles and industries but continue to learn from each other. We’re like sleeper cells in a carefully constructed satellite network — you never quite know when a connection will provide valuable insight but they always will.

So, as HomeServe grew, I resolved to create a similarly powerful network of talents and ideas. For the past decade, our alumni club has served three distinct purposes. First, we learn from each other: once a year, former HomeServe stars return to speak to us about their business experiences — people such as Greg Jackson, who, before he founded Octopus Energy, built our heating installation operation.

Second, the network creates unbreakable connections so people feel there is always a place for them here. We like to say that no one who’s great at their job ever leaves HomeServe. We just send them on secondment to get some external learning before they return even more talented — people such as Emma Thomas, now our group general counsel after a period at Britvic.

Third, it leads to business development opportunities. Four years ago, Len Lvovich, who had left HomeServe to set up Synergym, a low-cost fitness chain in Spain, was attending our alumni event — which led to me personally investing €6 million in his expansion. Today, he has 95 gyms open and a plan to get to 200.

I am convinced that, for instance, the King’s Trust (formerly the Prince’s Trust) would greatly benefit from a similar alumni set-up. It is one of the nation’s most inspiring organisations for young talent, having created 125,000 entrepreneurs and provided business support for almost 400,000 more. A formalised network would enable these success stories to provide advice, guidance and insight to the next generation of business go-getters.

Networking is most effective when you stop thinking of it as transactional. It should be about what you can give and learn, rather than what you can get and who you can connect with.

We’re not great at building strategic networking alumni programmes in the UK, preferring loose arrangements or nudges on LinkedIn. That’s a shame — all you need is the will and a little structure. I’m a big advocate.

I’ve tried to provide that with my Business Leader membership for entrepreneurs and chief executives running medium-sized businesses. In different localities, we put together ten entrepreneurs and bosses from diverse businesses and backgrounds. They meet face-to-face eight times a year, with a facilitator who ensures that they listen to and challenge each other, and form supportive friendships and, hopefully, business connections, too.

So don’t be sniffy about networking, especially in an age when face-to-face encounters are more valuable than ever. A professional alumni network is an invaluable resource that will make you a better business leader.

Richard Harpin is founder and chairman of HomeServe and Growth Partner, and owner of Business Leader magazine